


Neither Man, Nor Beast, Nor Elf

by Descendants_Eyes



Series: Dragons, Elves, and Yu-Gi-Oh! [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Gen, OC: Layla Eshe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 06:04:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/671122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Descendants_Eyes/pseuds/Descendants_Eyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In ancient times, a human was chosen to become the Dragon King. Now watch, as his story unfolds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. History

Back in ancient times, in another world, dragons raged a great war against one another.

Those of fire fought those of water. Those of wind fought those of earth. And those of metal fought those of wood.

In the midst of the fighting, the Dragon King, the one who ruled over all dragons, was killed by a dragon from each element. With its death came peace, but another king was needed.

Fighting broke out once again over who would be the new Dragon King. Each dragon wanted the new king to be one of its own element. Another war was about to begin, when an elder dragon suggested that they turn a human into their new king.

Many were outraged. Most thought it disgraceful to have a human for a king, but what if they turned him into a dragon.

Many dragons searched for one which would prove to be the rightful king. One fair and kind, but firm and resolute when needed.

Eventually, they found the perfect king.

While the chosen one slept, the dragons captured him and took him back to their world.

To become the Dragon King.


	2. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In ancient times, a human was chosen to become the Dragon King. Now watch, as his story unfolds.

Layla watched as the man screamed in pain.

She had no idea where she was. It looked like some kind of massive stone room. The ceiling was probably several hundred feet above her head. The walls were even wider apart. And in the center of the room, huge forms surrounded a table where someone was screaming.

Layla couldn't see exactly what the things were in front of her. All she saw were their black silhouettes. A small stone table, or at least small compared to the room, stood in the middle of the group. A man laid there as he thrashed and screamed. Layla couldn't see his features either. She just saw the silhouette.

Suddenly, the man froze and his screams stopped. Layla was about to say something when the man's eyes snapped open and Layla jumped back from the blood red eyes that looked straight at her.

The man jerked his arms, breaking free of the chains, and jumped right in from of her. What looked liked wings burst from the man's back and a tail appeared behind him. Then, the man seemed to puff out his chest and a _roar_ of that of a beast came from his mouth before he sprang at Layla.

"Ahhh! . . . Ow."

Layla rubbed her head as she opened her eyes. She was back in her room.

"What?" Carefully, Layla looked around. Yeah, it was definitely her room. Layla sighed. "It must have been a dream."

"Layla, are you alright?" Layla looked up as her grandfather entered the room. "I heard you screaming and then a thud." Lamar analyzed Layla's position, angled in her blanket on the floor. "Did you fall out of bed?" He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Y-Yeah," Layla said hastily as she quickly untangled herself from the blanket. "I just had some _weird_ dream is all. I'm okay, Grandpa." It was then Layla noticed what time it was. "Grandpa! You let me sleep in?"

"Don't worry, sweetie." Solomon waved his hand. "You worked so hard yesterday that I thought you could do with a little extra sleep."

"Are you kidding me?" Layla asked sarcastically as she ran to her closet and started pulling out clothes. "I'm going to be late for school!"

"No you won't."

"You are a cruel old geezer, you know that."

"Sure do."

* * *

A bell rang through the building, signaling the end of school for the day.

"Fin-al-ly!" Layla sang to no one as she quickly left her classroom, as did everyone else. "Time to get out of this shithole."

"Ms. Eshe! Don't make me write you up for swearing!" the teacher called as said student hurried out of the room.

"Sorry, Mr. Roberts!"

Layla would have run out of the building, if it wasn't for the fact that teachers would get on to her for it. So she walked until she was on the stairs of the entrance before bolting.

Layla laughed as the wind blew through her long black hair. Her sapphire eyes shined as she did what she loved. Running.

She had gained her pale skin from her mother.

She was on the school track team and ran the 100 meter dash. She loved to run, and always ran home from school.

Finally, she reached home.

She lived with her grandfather in his house. Her parents had died when she was young, leaving her in the care of her last remaining family member.

Lamar Eshe was a tall tan man in his early fifties who would give you shirt off his own back if it would help you. The neighbors often asked him when they had problems.

"Grandpa! I'm home!" she called as she walked inside.

"Hello, sweetie," Lamar said as he walked toward her from the couch, where he had been watching T.V.

After giving her grandfather a kiss on the cheek, Layla said, "I'm going up to my room."

"Alright," Lamar said with a smile. As he watched his granddaughter go up the stairs to her room he called, "And don't forget to do your homework."

"Alright!" was her reply.

Layla collapsed onto her bed as soon as she walked in. School was always such a pain.

"I can't wait till I graduate," she muttered to herself.

Layla barely managed to get up long enough to change into her pajamas. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

When Layla opened her eyes next, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

A man stood before her.

Even as he stood with his back to her, she could tell that he had beautiful tan skin and was well muscled. His hair was something she had never seen before. It was three separate colors, a combination of black, gold, and red.

His clothing was the strangest thing. He wore a white shirt and a matching skirt. He wore gold jewelry on his arms and legs.

The man was facing away from Layla. His arms hung from his sides and his head was lowered.

"Hey, asshole!"

At her yell, the man turned to look at her, and Layla gasped.

The man stared at her with an unreadable expression in his red eyes. His eyes were slit like that of a snake, which contracted and expanded periodically.

"What the hell happened to you?"

The man growled, literally growled, as he turned to face Layla completely. His teeth were like fangs.

"Run, child, run." The man's deep baritone of a voice didn't sound normal. It sounded like two people were speaking at the same time. "Run while you still can." It scared her.

"Why?" Layla asked as she took a step back as the man took a step forward at the same time. "What are you going to do to me?"

" _I_ won't hurt you," the man growled. "My bearer would be very upset with me if I did so."

"Your bearer?" Layla asked distracted. She stepped closer to Atem. "And who exactly is your bearer?"

The man spread his arms. "Why, the one you see before you of course." The man narrowed his eyes. "I won't let you harm my bearer."

Layla glared at him. She didn't like people who automatically accused. "I don't know who the hell you're talking about!"

Suddenly, the man was right behind her and wrapped his stronger than normal arms around Layla's chest. "Oh, you won't do it on purpose. But if you were hurt, or killed, Atem would be very upset, and I won't let that happen." Atem lowered his lips to Layla's ear. "So run, Layla Eshe. Run before they catch you and _him_ both."

Layla woke up to the sound of glass shattering.

Springing out of bed, Layla ran to the door to her room and flung it open. Out of the corner of her eye, he saw Lamar emerging from his room as well. Together, they ran down the stairs and paused at the bottom.

And lying naked on the floor, was the man from Layla's dreams.

The front door to the house was blown open, as though by a bomb. Part of the wall was still on fire. Another part was frozen solid. Dirt covered the floor.

Layla ran up to the man, who laid face-down, and turned him over. She checked for a pulse, and sighed when she felt a normal heartbeat. Then, she placed her head on Atem's chest to listen for breathing and was relieved when he heard the "whoosh" of air entering Atem's lungs.

"So he's alive at least," she sighed

Staring at the man then, Layla remembered her dream. This man had told her to run before someone found her and someone else. Who was the other person?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.


	3. Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In ancient times, a human was chosen to become the Dragon King. Now watch, as his story unfolds.

Layla stayed home the next day. Thankfully, it was Saturday.

The man never woke up.

Later that day, the sun had already set, Layla walked back into her room to see if the man was awake. She didn't really think he would be awake, but she didn't want to just ignore him.

Layla pulled her chair from her desk to the bed and sat down. "When are you gonna wake up, asshole?"

'How did this guy get here? And, more importantly, why the hell was he naked at the destroyed doorstep.'

The man hadn't even so much as twitched since he had mysteriously arrived. The only sign of movement was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

"Who are you?" Layla asked frustrated and reached up to touch the man's face.

Suddenly, a wrist snatched her wrist in a firm grip and the man's eyes snapped open, revealing that same blood red, which trained in on her with the pupil contracted to a mere slit.

"Oh it's you," he said sarcastically as he let go of Layla's wrist, his pupils relaxing, who rubbed the sore appendage. "I though I told you to run."

"What the fuck?" Layla asked startled.

The man glared at her. "I told you to run and take him with you. They shall be here soon, and if they find you they will kill you." He suddenly growled out loud. "You're going to get yourself killed because you weren't smart enough to figure out—!"

He suddenly froze; then, he was suddenly clutching his head and yelling in pain. "Not now! No! Not now! You're not safe yet! I have to get you safe!" the man's back arched as he yelled louder than ever, then he fell limb on the bed.

After a few seconds, which felt more like hours to Layla, the man began to groan and shift on the bed. He turned so he was facing Layla and his eyes blinked open, his eyes were now a beautiful violet color.

"Hey, you finally woke up," Layla whispered. She didn't know else what to say.

There was a moment of silence before, "Who are you?" the man asked as he sat up. He looked around the room, taking in the blue walls and carpet. "Where am I?"

Layla stared a moment before smirking at the guy. "Well, you see, the thing is I'm not telling you anything until you tell me why and how the fuck you got here. Oh, and your name."

"My name is Atem. I don't how I got here. I don't remember what happened." The man's eyed drooped as in fatigue. "What am I doing here?" He seemed to ask no one.

"I don't know," Layla answered uneasily. "I was hoping you could tell me." Layla stood and smiled. "Go to sleep. You're tired, and I'm hungry. I'm going to go make lunch and let my grandfather know you've woken up. I'll come check on you in a little bit." She turned toward the door. "Have a nice nap," she said cheerfully as he closed the door.

Atem chuckled. "She is strange." Atem looked around the room again, uneasy about sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings. He though about Yugi.

'I wonder how long it has been since I left.'

His drowsiness became the better of him. He laid back down and with a yawn, fell back to sleep.

* * *

When Atem next opened his eyes, he didn't know where he was. He was in some bedroom, but it wasn't Yugi's. Then, he remembered the girl.

With a chuckle, Atem slipped out of bed. He didn't know if he would be able to stand so he was careful and moved slowly.

Atem looked around the room again, wondering where the girl could be. He walked over to the door and entered the hallway.

Hearing noises from below, he walked over to the stairs and walked down as quietly as he could. At the bottom of the stairs he saw the girl and a man sitting on the couch eating some rice and scrambled eggs.

Atem cleared his throat to get their attentions.

At the sound, Layla looked over her shoulders and was surprised to see Atem standing at the bottom of the stairs. Nearly chocking on her mouthful of food, she placed her plate down and stood. "Hey, asshole, you're awake!"

Atem grunted in disapproval at his new name. "What have I done to be called as such?"

"With me, you don't need reasons. Breakfast's in the kitchen, help yourself." With that said, she sat back down and continued eating.

Atem chuckled as he looked around the room. His eyes settled on Lamar. The old man looked at him strangely, after all, Atem was a total stranger and he was staying in his daughter's room.

"Hello, sir. Thank you for allowing me to stay in your house."

Atem's never ending formality surprised LAmar. "Your welcome. Go get some food from the kitchen. You're probably starving."

"Thank you, sir."

"Call me Lamar."

"Sure, Mr. Lamar."

Atem turned and walked to the kitchen. He was surprised when he heard soft footsteps behind him, signaling that the girl was following him.

Layla glared at him as she walked in. "You better not suck up to my grandfather like that."

Atem blinked at her, the glared lightly at the accusation. "I was just being polite."

Layla snorted before she said, "Whatever." She turned to go back to the living room but paused to tell Atem one more thing. "My name is Layla, by the way."

Atem stared as she disappeared around the corner and chuckled.

"What strange girl you are, Layla."

* * *

"Alright, let's go," Layla ordered as she dragged Atem toward the door.

"Where are you going, again?" Lamar asked. He wasn't sure about letting his daughter go anywhere with a total stranger, no matter how polite he is.

"We're just walking around," Layla said as she rolled her eyes. "Come _on_ " She yanked on Atem's making him glare.

"You don't have to rip my arm off." He pulled his arm from her grasp. "Lead the way, Miss Eshe."

Layla glared at the 'Miss Eshe' comment, but nonetheless opened the door and walked out.

Atem closed the door behind him. He followed the girl for a few minutes before asking, "What city is this?"

Layla looked over her shoulder to see his expression as she answered, "Domino."

Atem froze as he realized how close he was to his friends. His thoughts turned to Yugi. He quickly looked around, looking for a familiar sight. Finally, he found one.

'The Black Spider Arcade,' Atem thought. He turned the opposite direction. 'That means the Game Shop is . . . '

"Hey, what's up with you—" Whatever she had been about to say was cut off short as Atem broke into a dead sprint. "Hey! Come back here!" She growled as he didn't listen and took off after him.

Atem had no problem retracing the steps that he used to take each day with Yugi in the boy's way to school. Finally, a _very_ familiar building was in his sights.

Laughter bubbled from his throat as he realized he was going to see his closet friend again. Then, he was tackled to the ground.

He looked over his shoulder to see the Layla holding on to him tightly.

Layla smirked at the shocked expression on his face. "Gotcha, asshole."

Atem tried to pry the girl off of him, but she wouldn't. "Release me," he ordered.

His choice of words made Layla pause for a moment before she glared at him. "Why?" she asked skeptically. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Atem growled before answering. "I _was_ trying to go see my friend."

Layla snorted at him. "Excuse me if I'm wrong, but there are no houses in this part of town. If your friend lives here, then it must be in a cardboard box."

Atem glared at her as she insulted Yugi, whether she knew it or not. "He lives in the store right there." He turned his head and nodded to the Game Shop.

Layla looked up, ready to prove him wrong, but was surprised by which building he pointed to. "But that's the Game Shop."

"Yes, and?"

"The King of Games lives there."

"Yes, I know." His tone made Layla look down at him. "Yugi is the friend I came to see."

There as a moment of silence before, "You're friends with the King of Games?"

"Yes," Atem answered before he crawled out from under the girl. She had loosened her grip from shock. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because," she said sharply, "he's said in several interviews that all his friends had moved away from town, and he didn't see them anymore." She took in Atem's now saddened expression. "How do I know you're not lying?"

Atem chuckled before turning toward the Game Shop. "You can always come and see."

Layla glared at him before following the boy to the store. Noticing that the sign said closed, Layla started to say — Look they're closed. Let's come back later. — but before she could get a word out, Atem opened the door and stepped inside.

"What are you doing?" she hissed at him from the doorway.

"Either come in or close the door," Atem said as he looked back at her.

Layla stared at him before walking in and closing the door behind her. "I'm not letting you out of my sight, asshole."

Atem rolled his eyes and muttered, "Such a lovely name."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

Atem walked up to the desk and rang the bell over and over again. This continued until they heard a voice from upstairs.

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!"

"That's the King of Games!" Layla said out load in her panic. She looked to where Atem had been standing by the bell, but he wasn't there. She spun around to find him but he wasn't anywhere in the room.

"Atem?" she hissed in a whisper.

"Hello?" a young man's voice rang from upstairs, footsteps following shortly after.

Layla could just stare as the _fucking_ King of Games walked in front of her.

Yugi Motto had grown since the end of the KC Grand Championship. He stood at a proud five foot eleven inches. His soft features had sharpened slightly, but nothing significant. He had gained a little muscle and he still had his wide amethyst eyes.

Looking into those eyes, it suddenly occurred to Layla that Atem's eyes looked just Yugi's, in color at least.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Yugi said softly as he smiled at the young girl. "I'm terribly sorry, but we're closed right now."

"Oh," Layla said lamely, as though she didn't already know that. She shook her head and got back on track. "Some guy I recently met said he was a friend of yours, so we came to visit."

Yugi chuckled and smiled at the girl. "But, you're the only one here."

Layla rubbed the back of her head and looked around again. "I know, he was here a second ago, but he disappeared. He probably left to pick on me, the asshole."

Yugi laughed and Layla couldn't help joining in. Layla had never actually _met_ the King of Games before, but something about the older man made her feel happy. He just had that kind of personality.

"Tell me, Miss . . . uh"

"Layla."

Yugi smiled. "Miss Layla, what was this guy's name who, apparently, is a friend of mine."

"He didn't tell me his last name," Layla frowned at that, as she realized she had never asked for Atem's last name, "but he said his name was Atem."

Yugi's sudden change of expression and the fact the man almost fell over, had he not grabbed the counter, scared Layla. "Wh-What did you say?"

Layla almost didn't answer before she whispered, "Atem."

Yugi straightened at gestured for the girl to go up the stairs. "Maybe we should talk."

Swallowing hard, Layla slowly walked past the famous Yugi Motto, someone she had admired for years and had always wanted to meet. Now that she got her wish, she wished she hadn't followed Atem in.

When she reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to the living room, what she saw pissed her off.

"You asshole!"

Hearing her yell from below, Yugi hurried past her and looked for what had upset her. He grabbed the girl and she made to kill the familiar face on the couch.

"Y-Yami?" he asked as he restrained Layla.

Atem smiled at Yugi. "Hello, Yugi."

"You son of a bitch! How dare you trick me? I'll kill you! I swear I'll kill you!"

Yugi looked down at the girl, shocked, before he looked back at Atem and raised an eyebrow. "What on earth have you done to this girl?"

Atem snorted before looked away and out the window. "Absolutely nothing."

"That's a goddamn lie!"

Atem's eyes flashed to Layla. "And what have I done to you, Miss Eshe."

Layla stopped struggling in Yugi's grasp. "Oh, I don't know, showing up naked on my doorstep, blowing up said doorstep, playing kiss up to my grandfather, and, oh, I don't know, _molesting me in my dreams_!"

Atem quickly stood up, Layla though he was about to yell at her, but instead it turned out to be shock. "What are talking about? What about your dreams?"

The genuine concern in his voice and his amethyst eyes made Layla freeze. "Right before you showed up, I had a weird dream of you. Your eyes were red and had in them, like a cat. Your voice sounded different too. It was like . . . like two people were talking at the same time." Yugi let go of her and she relaxed completely. "It sounded like your voice and a more, I don't know how to describe it, a more growly voice."

Yugi and Atem shared a glance before they both looked back at Layla.

Yugi asked, "Can you remember what he said?"

She remembered perfectly what he had said. "'Run, child, run. Run while you still can.'" She decided to leave out the 'bearer' part until she understood it herself. "'So run, Layla Eshe. Run before they catch you and _him_ both.'"

"'Him?'" Yugi asked no one. "Who would that be?"

A crease formed between Atem's eyebrows. "If _I_ said that to you, then . . . " he paused as he looked up at Yugi. " . . . couldn't it mean you, Yugi?"

Yugi frowned as he thought it through. "Possibly."

Atem growled before he made to leave down the stairs. "I shouldn't have come."

"No!" Yugi hurried and blocked his way. It was then that Yugi realized that he was actually taller than Atem. He a mocking smirk he said, "Where you going, shorty?"

Atem mocked glared at Yugi as he too realized he had to look up to Yugi, literally.

Suddenly, Yugi's smirk dropped as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Atem, hugging his friend close.

Atem, shocked at the sudden move, froze before he relaxed and smiled, hugging his friend back. "I've missed you."

Yugi's grip on him tightened. "I missed you too."

Atem chuckled and he pulled away, smiling at Yugi, who smiled back, before he frowned. "Yugi, how long have I been gone?"

Yugi rested hid forehead on Atem's shoulder. "It's been five years since our duel. Well, almost five years. Oh!" he suddenly yelled as his head shot up. The sudden movement made Atem blink in shock. "Come on!" Yugi yelled as he dragged Atem to his room. He paused and turned to Layla. "You're welcome to come too, Miss Eshe."

Layla smiled before she winked at the pair. "Sure, but call me Layla."

Yugi chuckled. "Alright, Layla." He turned and continued to drag Atem to his room.

As Layla followed, she couldn't help but stare at the two. She had already deduced that Atem hadn't been lying before about knowing Yugi. To her, it was hilarious to watch the two interact. They didn't treat each other like normal friends, nor even normal best friends. They didn't act like they were gay or anything, but it was definitely not normal.

As she walked into her idol's room, she couldn't help but look around. She couldn't believe her eyes.

The King of Games, Battle City Champion, and KC Grand Championship winner had a normal bedroom!

She gazed at the pale green painted walls and blue carpet covering the floor. The clothes on the floor in the corner. The messy desk, covered in loose leaf paper and pencils. The three Duel Monsters posters hanging on the wall. The closet stuffed with its owner.

Layla laughed as Yugi reached into his closet on his hands and knees. Whatever he was pulling on must have been heavy. Finally, a big trunk broke through the mess of objects at the bottom of the closet.

"Ah, here it is!" Yugi said. His absolute joy was noticeable to even Layla, who had just met the guy. "Wait, before I tell you, you have to answer one question." he said seriously to Atem.

Atem looked at him confused. "What is it?"

Yugi looked down for a moment before looking back at Atem. "When is your birthday? Or close to it?" he asked softly.

It was a weird question to Layla. If they really were such great friends, then wouldn't Yugi already know Atem's birthday? She watched Atem, who apparently didn't find the question odd at all.

Atem's face saddened as he answered. He knew that birthdays were important to modern day people, and he had left before telling his friends when his own was. "During the flooding of the Nile in the second month of Akhet. That would be somewhere between early September and early October." (1)

If Layla thought the question was strange, the answer was even stranger. 'What the hell does month of Akhet mean? How can he not know when he was born?'

"Oh," Yugi murmured before he continued, "because we didn't know when your birthday was, so we celebrated on the day I completed the Puzzle." He turned toward the trunk and patted its surface. "Every year on that day, we would all bring a single present for you. Very Egyptian isn't it," he laughed at the last part. "I put them all in here. I want you to at least see them."

Atem smiled at Yugi. "That is very kind of you, thank you."

Yugi laughed, waving it off and opened to trunk. "Let's see . . . let's see," he murmured to himself. He suddenly laughed. "Guess who this is from?"

He pulled out a black Apple iPhone 4, one of the best phones out there but also one of the most expensive.

Atem just laughed at the thing. "Kaiba." It wasn't a question.

"Yep. That was year one. Here's year two."

He pulled out an iPod Touch.

Atem rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Year three."

An 11-Inch MacBook Air.

"Year four."

A PlayStation Vita.

"And he mailed this to me for this year."

A Nintendo 3DS.

Atem chuckled again and looked at Yugi with a knowing smile, who smiled back just the same. "And I am supposed to use these _how_?"

The comment made Yugi erupt with laughter. "Trust me, I told him you wouldn't need this stuff, even if you could figure out how to work it. Don't give me that look! You know you're not the best with technology. Anyway, Kaiba would just grunt and leave."

This time, Atem was the one who erupt with laughter. "Sounds like normal Kaiba." When he finally calmed down he asked. "What else is there?"

"I know you're really religious to your people's beliefs so I did some research before picking a gift. I actually made two. First year."

He pulled out a small wooden toy. It looked like a Dreidel, only instead of Hebrew letters, it was covered in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Atem gently took the top and looked at the hieroglyphs on it s surface, spinning to read the entire message.

"The Jewish dreidel says 'a great miracle happened here,' but I changed the symbols."

Atem smiled at the boy. "Do you know what this says?"

"Yeah," Yugi said as he laughed. "Took me forever to find the right symbols. 'Everything good and pure on which a god lives', right?"

"Ĥt nb(t) nfr(t) w'b(t) 'nht ntr im," Atem nodded, making Layla wonder what on earth he was speaking. He turned back to Yugi with a smile. "Thank you."

Yugi smiled back. "Your welcome." He reached into the trunk and pulled out another object made of wood. "Year two."

It was an eye. Layla didn't understand what was so special about an eye, but Atem did. It was a wooden carving of the Eye of Horus. There was a small cord attached to it, and Atem lifted it around his neck, mentally promising to never take it off.

Yugi suddenly got up and when to his cabinet and pulled out the gold box which had previously held the Millennium Puzzle and the Egyptian God Cards. He opened the box and pulled something out, deliberately trying to keep it hidden, before he put the lid back on and placed the box back. He sat back on the ground next to Atem and held out his open hand. "I'm keeping my promise to you."

_The night before the ceremonial duel, after Atem had assembled his deck, Atem was still control of Yugi's body when he called to Yugi mentally._

_Yugi's transparent form appeared next to him, sitting on top of the table, with a smile on his face._

" _Yugi," Atem said._

_Yugi looked up at him and his smile faded away from Atem's serious tone. "What is it, Yami?"_

_Atem stared at the cartouche that Téa had given him. He looked up, and his eyes focused on the gold box that had once held the many pieces of the Millennium Puzzle. He walked over to where the box sat, lowered the necklace inside, and covered it with the lid. He turned to Yugi and explained. "Yugi, I want you to keep this. Keep it safe for me until the time that we see each other again arrives. Please, do this for me."_

_Yugi stared at him, shocked by the request. Then, he smiled that famous Yugi smile and said, "I will. I promise."_

In Yugi's hand was a silver rectangle necklace with some more symbols inscribed on it.

Atem reached out and placed the necklace on his neck with the other. "Thank you."

Yugi smiled before moving on to the next gift. But first . . .

"Wait! Would you like your deck?" At Atem's confused expression, he explained, "I mean, the one you made for the Ceremonial Duel."

Atem sat up as he stared at the cards in Yugi's hand. After a moment, he stood and walked over to where Yugi stood and took the cards from him. He looked Yugi in the eye before saying sincerely, "Thank you."

* * *

Yugi, Atem, and Layla spent the whole day together at the Game Shop.

After Yugi showed Atem all his gifts, they put them away and just sat on Yugi's bed and talked. They even included Layla in their conversations and asked her questions.

"So, Layla," Atem started, "since you knew that Yugi is the King of Games, I'm assuming that you play Duel Monsters."

"You would be correct, asshole."

"Will you kindly stop calling me that?" Atem asked with a slight glare. "My name is Atem."

Layla just shrugged. "Nah, I like my nickname for you better. By the way, what _is_ your last name? Your Atem, what?"

"Uh . . . " Atem stalled as he glanced at Yugi. During his time, there was no such thing as a last name.

"Oba!" Yugi said quickly, saying the first word he could think of.

Atem had to hide his laughter as coughs.

"Atem Oba," Layla said, tasting the sound off it out for herself. "What language is that?"

"Egyptian," Atem answered, not bothering to tell her that it was _Ancient_ Egyptian.

"Oh!" Layla said, suddenly excited. "Their names always mean something! What does your name mean?"

Atem glared at Yugi quickly and answered, " _Atemu_ means 'great god of Annu' and _Oba_ means 'king.'"

"Atem-u?" Layla asked as she could just faintly hear the U that Atem had added to his name. "Is it Atem or Atem-u? And why do you call him Yami?" She directed the last question to Yugi.

Atem is the one who answered her. " _Atemu_ is how it is pronounced in Egyptian, but in English, it is pronounced _Atem_." He glanced at Yugi. "Yami is a nickname that only Yugi calls me."

Then, Layla's stomach growled at the same time that Atem yawned a big yawn.

Yugi stood and grabbed Layla's hand. "Come one, let's get something to eat." He turned to Atem and glared. "Sleep," he ordered.

Atem rolled his eyes, but muttered, "Yes, sir."

Yugi led Layla out of the room as Atem settled down under the covers to get some sleep.

Atem was surprised by how he was suddenly exhausted. After a few minutes, the pain started.

Yugi pulled last night's lasagna out of the fridge and placed a square on each plate and placed on in the microwave. As that heated up, Yugi placed the tray of lasagna back in the fridge.

"How do you know him?" Layla finally asked while they were both sitting down at the dinning room table, eating their lasagna. "How did you . . . meet him?"

Yugi chuckled as he smiled up at the girl. "You're a smart girl. You notice things that most people don't. Tell me, what do you think of how Atem and I interact with each other?"

"You . . . you don't treat each other like normal people do. It's like . . . you guys know what the other is thinking, even before you know yourselves. I've never seen anything like it."

Yugi stared out the sliding glass door before saying, "I met Atem for the first time nine years ago and for the last time five years ago."

It didn't take Layla long to do the math. "So, you knew each other for four years."

"Right," Yugi approved with a smile. "I'm sure you have noticed the resemblance between Atem and me."

"How could you not?" Layla asked skeptically. "You two look almost exactly alike, aside from the blond in your hair, the bigger muscles, the sharp eyes, and deep voice."

Yugi chuckled lightly and spoke out load to himself. "My friends didn't notice for almost a year."

"What?"

"Nothing," Yugi said as he closed his eyes. He opened them again and studied Layla. It made her feel uncomfortable. "You're a special girl, Miss Eshe."

"Layla," she corrected. "Why's that?"

"Because Yami doesn't treat you like he treats strangers. He treats you like an old friend." Layla watched Yugi tilted his head. "I've never seen him do that before."

"Oh," Layla murmured as she blushed scarlet. "Um . . . well—"

Atem's pain filled screams suddenly echoed through the building.

"Yami!" Yugi yelled as he quickly ran to his bedroom, Layla right behind him.

Layla gasped as she saw Yugi's bedroom door. "Wasn't that door blue before?"

Now, the door was completely black, even the brass doorknob was completely black.

Yugi reached out toward the door, but as soon as his hand touched the surface, black electricity shocked his hand. He frowned as he rubbed the sore appendage and muttered, "Shadow Magic."

"What?" Layla asked turning to him with wide eyes.

"Yami is using his Shadow Magic," Yugi explained. "It's an old, but powerful brand of magic that Yami is very gifted with. I can use Shadow Magic myself, but no the degree that Yami can."

Layla watched as Yugi slowly held his arm out toward the door, his palm out and fingers spread. He closed his eyes and, Layla gasped as, a golden eye appeared on Yugi's forehead.

Yugi started to murmur something, but Layla couldn't make out the words. She had a pretty good guess that they weren't even English.

Inside the room, Atem was eerily silent.

Yugi stopped murmuring as the black mass covering the door slowly started to slide down the door, until it disappeared into the floor.

"Is that good?" Layla asked softly.

"I don't know," Yugi said as he slowly walked toward his bedroom door. "Atem's the one who put up that barrier and he's that one who put it down."

Layla hesitated as Yugi reached out to the doorknob, but before he could open the door, it opened from the inside. One second she was in the hall, then, after a blur of tan, she was in Yugi's room. Then she heard Yugi yell.

"Yami!" At first, Layla thought he had yelled to scold Atem for suddenly dragging them in the room, but then she heard the genuine fear in his voice, and she turned to where he faced. She recognized what she saw.

It was Atem. But it wasn't the Atem who she had been hanging out with all day. It was the Atem from her dream.

Atem stared at them from across the room. The only movement they could see was the rise and fall of Atem's chest as he breathed.

"It's you." Her words came out as a whisper.

Somehow, Atem still heard her. He tilted his head and said. "Yes. Hello again."

Yugi glanced between the two and whispered to Layla, "What are talking about?"

Layla and Atem both looked at him, but Layla still answered him. "Remember that dream I told you about? The one where Atem had red eyes . . . " She stopped there, and both of them looked back at Atem.

He chuckled. "Why the looks? You make it look like I'm some kind of demon." Atem smirked as though he has said some private joke. He cleared his throat loudly. "Anyway," he said slowly as he sat on Yugi's bed, "we have a bit of a problem. There are some people after me right now."

"Are they after _you_ or _Yami_?" Yugi asked.

Atem growled without looking at him. "I _am_ Atem."

"No your not," Yugi countered immediately. "I know Yami, and you are most certainly not him."

Atem finally glared at him. "Did it ever occur to you, Yugi, that maybe not all of my memories were restored during the Memory World? That there are some memories I tried to hide even from myself?"

They had lost Layla at this point. She didn't even bother trying to understand what they were talking about, it would only give her a headache. "So, who's after you?"

"Don't worry about that," Atem said, shrugging off the question. "We need to plan what to do."

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked.

"Well," Atem started before he continued, "I know you can protect yourself, Yugi, but Layla will be defenseless. I really don't know what to do." He stared ahead, thinking.

Then, suddenly, he gasped as he quickly stood. "No! They're here!"

"Who's here?" Yugi yelled the question.

Atem didn't get the chance to answer.

The back wall exploded inward from some force. Yugi pulled Layla to the ground to try to protect her and himself from the flying debris. As the dust settled, they both glanced to the where the explosion had occurred and was stared at what they saw.

Atem was bent forward slightly with his back to them and hissed at the person in front of him like how an animal hisses in warning. His lip curled above his teeth, revealing sharp teeth and long canines.

Standing in front of Atem was a man.

He word elegant green and brown clothing. His hair was blond, but not like any blond Layla had ever seen. It was like his hair was glowing without light. His blue eyes were stunning. The man's pointed ears reminded Layla of elves. A sword was raised in front of him, the weapon encrusted with symbols that Layla didn't recognize. He was poised for a fight.

The wall behind the man was missing, probably destroyed by the man so he could get into the building.

The man looked at Layla and Yugi and glared. He spoke in a language unknown, but Layla could still recognize the insult in the words. "Iyashimu, hito no! Hen kare kisaki e no watashi-tachi o so!" (2)

Layla reasoned that Atem must have understood what he said, because that warning hiss turned into a threatening growl. He growled out the words, "Kare ni hanasu koto wa arimasen." (3)

The man's eyes flashed to Atem confused. "Riyū o?" (4)

Atem glared at him even worse, which was saying something considering how fiercely Atem was glaring at him already. "Watashi go sō ittakara." (5)

The man snorted before repositioning his stance. "Ningen wa tan'ni anata o doku shite iru." (6)

Angry, Atem yelled, "Karera was sōde aw arimasen!" (7)

The man growled, the human kind of growled, and sprang at Atem and pushed him to the side. Then he turned his eyes to where Yugi and Layla lay stunned. He raised his sword, and attacked.

"No!" Atem yelled as he grabbed the man by the back of his shirt, the sword missing Yugi by less than and inch, and flung the man across the room and out of the gapping hole in the wall. He turned back to the two, panicked. "We must go!"

Yugi nodded and stood pulling Layla up with him. He ran from the room, dragging Layla with him, and ran down stairs into the store part of the building. "Yami, take her with you!"

"No!" Atem turned to his friend with a conflicted expression. "I can't leave you here!"

Yugi smiled at him. "You just said I can take care of myself." That gold eye appeared on his forehead again. "I'm not exactly defenseless, but she is," he nodded at Layla.

Atem stared at Yugi for a few seconds before nodding. He quickly placed his hand on Yugi's forehead and closed his eyes.

Layla gasped as that same eye appeared on Atem's forehead as well.

Atem focused as he cancelled some energy into Yugi, so that his magic would stronger and he would have a better chance at defending himself. He removed his hand as he finished and opened his eyes. "Take care, my friend." He grabbed Layla's hand and ran out the door.

Yugi stared as the door closed behind them and turned as the elf man ran down the stairs. He watched as the elf man glanced at the door before glaring at him and raising his sword.

Yugi turned his body to the right and raised his left arm toward the elf man, his palm facing the man with his fingers spread.

The eye on his forehead glowed brighter.

* * *

"W-Will he k-kill Yugi?" Layla asked shakily.

"No." Atem turned his head to look Layla in the eye. "I promise you, he will not be hurt."

Layla nodded as the two ran. She didn't doubt Atem words; Atem wouldn't lie to her about this, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

Atem suddenly pulled her into an alley and Atem wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hold on to me," he ordered.

Shakily, Layla wrapped her arms around Atem's waist. She buried her face into Atem's chest as a strange sound vibrated through the air. She didn't get a chance to see what it was when they were suddenly thrown into the air.

Layla screamed as the wind whooshed in her ears. Even though she knew she would regret it immediately, she peaked out of the corner of her eye to see what was going on. With a gasp, her eyes flew wide as she watched the city flow beneath her.

Somehow, they were flying. They were literally flying above the city of Domino. The city was beautiful at night, all the neon signs lit up, the windows of buildings casting light outward. It took Layla a second to realize that this shouldn't be possible.

She turned her head back to Atem, about to ask him how they were flying, but the question froze on her tongue at what she saw.

At least she knew how Atem was flying.

Huge wings stretched out on either side of them. They were the same color of Atem's skin, that rich tan, and shaped like a bat's wings, thin bones connected by a thin layer of skin. Whenever a light shone from the other side of a wing, Yugi could catch a glimpse of the hundreds of blood vessels under that skin.

Then it really kicked in for her.

"Holy shit! You have fucking wings!"

Layla's sudden and rather loud scream startled Atem making him wobble in air for a moment before he stabled himself.

Atem glanced down at her, annoyed. "Shout it to the world, why don't you?"

Layla glared at the comment. "Shut it, asshole."

Atem chuckled at her. "I expected much worse honestly."

Layla's glare lightened slightly. "So, where are we going?"

"Somewhere a good distance away from there," he answered. "Just relax and enjoy the scenery."

Layla rolled her eyes, but couldn't help doing what he asked. The scene below them was too beautiful to just ignore.

After a few minutes, Layla closed her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of the warm wind blowing around them. So, she noticed when the wind around them changed slightly. Layla was about to open her eyes and see why when Atem said, "Don't open your eyes."

Layla could feel when Atem tilted them down toward the ground, and she clenched her hands around Atem's biceps reflexively.

When Layla felt the thump of them landing on the ground, she opened her eyes to see that they were in the deep in the woods outside of Domino. When he noticed that Atem was panting heavily, Layla carefully back away from him.

With Layla out of his grasp, Atem fell back until he was lying on his back. He closed his eyes as he tried to get his breathing under control.

Seeing Atem's tense form, Layla nervously sat down next to him and ran her fingers through Atem's hair. Layla watched Atem's muscles relax.

Once his breathing was back to normal, Atem said, "We should get going soon. He will come back with others. I won't be able to protect you against two Tiathro." (10)

"Tiathro?" Layla asked in confusion.

Sitting up with a sigh, Atem explained. "The Tiathro is the name of their species. I suppose they are basically what humans call elves."

"I kind of though of that," Layla said embarrassed. "His ears made me think of elves, but I didn't think he was an _actual_ elf." With a frown, she asked. "Why was he after you?"

"He, and probably others, are here to take me back with them to their world."

"What did we do that he attacked us?" That was one thing that confused her the most. She and Yugi had just been there and hadn't even said anything, and the guy tried to kill them. "You two were speaking the same language," she accused.

Atem looked at her with an exasperated look. "To the Tiathro, humans are vile, disgusting creatures. He attacked you and Yugi because he believed you two had 'poisoned' me, as he put it." Atem made quotation marks with his fingers to show Layla the quote. "He though killing the both of you would remove whatever you guys had done to me that kept me from wanting to leave with him."

Layla shivered. "They don't sound very nice."

Atem chuckled darkly. "In their world, with their own people, they are the kindest and most gentle of creatures. It is only with other species that they behave as such."

"Oh," Layla murmured before she realized something. She looked at Atem with accusing eyes. "How do you know so much about them, if they come from another world?"

Atem looked away from her and into the woods as he answered. "Because I am, in a way, from there as well."

"But you're human," Layla argued.

"I _was_ human, Layla," Atem corrected, but would not look at her.

There was a moment of silence. "You're not human anymore?"

"No, I'm not." Atem's hands clenched as he spoke again. "The Seltherathem changed me." (11)

"The Seltherathem?" Layla asked. All these foreign words were really getting on her nerves. "And what are the Seltherathem?"

Atem finally looked at him, but his eyes were hard and cold. "They are . . . the dragons of the other world."

It took Layla a few minutes to absorb the information. If dragons changed Atem, did that mean that he was . . .

And it made sense. That was the worst part about it. The wings, slitted eyes, growling, fangs. It all made sense.

"You're a dragon." Her words weren't a question.

Atem smirked at her, bearing his long fangs. "Yes, I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.
> 
> (1) I looked up that information. Just letting you know so that you don't think that is utter nonsense.
> 
> (2) Vile, humans! Return him back to us at once!
> 
> (3) Do not speak to them.
> 
> (4) Why?
> 
> (5) Because I said so.
> 
> (6) The humans have just poisoned you.
> 
> (7) They have not!
> 
> (8) Wood! Bind him!
> 
> (9) Die, human.
> 
> (10) Tiathro; meaning "magic sage". Pronounced "tea" as in the drink tea, "oth" like moth without the M, and "row" like you row a boat. "Tea-oth-row".
> 
> (11) Seltherathem; meaning "The Dragons of the High Sky." Pronounced "sell" like you sell goods, "there" like I'm going over there, "ah" like a doctor tells you to say ah, and "thém" like look at them, but put emphasis on the E. "Sell-there-ah-thém."

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.


End file.
